Sat-Trak 24, how much does it cost?

Hello, hope all is well - No doubt what stands to reason stands to reason but...does the system in question provide this service? It is of course possible, but do they do it?(ie pass on other users positions) .
Cheers
Greg

Actually, you are not far off the mark. The latest offering of GPS, is also coupled with a small UHF radio as well. Didn't get much of a write up, but.... if one can send data to the other one, along a UHF link, then we're there.

Wolfie

ok, before someone jumps on me that should have been the International Space Station...not shuttle

I really have to pull my finger out and do my regs exam.

Can't have you all on your lonesome. I'll put it on the to do list for after return from CSR in June.

That means I'll get to it around September cos leaving the wife with kids for 5 weeks means all her stuff on my to do list goes straight to the top....and my stuff to the botttom...

But I did get to go, some (most) blokes I know's wives reckon my wifes either mad or way to generous.

Dave

It is a little on the expensive side.

How much do you have to pay up front, like for the hardware for Sat-Trak 24?

Tell ya what though, that's a pretty neat thing, this bouncing off the ISS!

Now, when you say BOUNCING, is that like REALLY bouncing, or is it simply resent again through the ISS network?

Wolfie

goodday ray
just looking at your map 45ks from melb must put you just short of geelong its interesting that it can be done like that

steve

Ian, I didn't say anything about bouncing the signal. The ISS has a digital repeater (digipeater) onboard which simply repeats my signal to be picked up by ground stations, the footprint is nearly 3000k's so if the pass is close to the middle of Oz it nearly covers the whole country. I have a prediction program that tells me where various birds are at any given time and when to expect them overhead. Looking at today I get 4 ISS passes from 11.28am about 90 minutes apart. Each pass only last about 5 minutes.....these low orbit birds move fast but are very easy to get a signal into. Can also get a signal into the network via HF or the ground repeater network or as I'm doing now connected directly to a web server. The Bird or HF are the only options in remote areas

The Sat-Trak pricing page has the equipment prices.

Steve, That would be 45 miles, can toggle between miles and K's on the page you were looking at. Yeah I'm in notherrn Geelong.

Actually, you're right.......... you didn't mention bouncing........

Now, where are my glasses.................lol!!

Wolfie

" What do you think is a reasinable cost for 24/7 live monitoring ? "

Whew.......... hard call.........

At the moment, my life is not worth very much, because I haven't been helping Tracy in the garden, but to others, they may think their lives are worth something.....

I am not up to speed on any of the systems that people employ, like sat-phones & HF, and I have no idea what they cost up front, and per year to run.

As with your system, I see that you are aiming at a niche gap, which will appeal to a certain group of customers, and they will pay what they think it's worth to them.

I run a workshop, and have a monitored alarm with a security company, and it costs me $14.00 @ week. I have had this service for 14 years, and I never blink an eyelid.

I guess if I was on the road a whole lot, and I intended to stay on the road, sort of like a grey nomad, I would have your system in a flash, simple.

Thankyou for outlining the prices for us, and keep up the good work.

Wolfie

Wolfie,

Poor long suffering Tracy....
I've got a poor long suffering Kerry.
And a financial planner who keeps on talking about spending rates and bankruptcy and western decadence.... Sigh - how are we supposed to be having a mid life crisis with financial constraints.

Back to your question. This is what I found when I was asking the same questions as you. I am not anywhere near an expert with these things and others may provide different info.

I priced a sat phone to hire for four weeks for July this year. Costs around $500 to hire for a month and call costs around $4 a minute. Easy to get connections to somewhere, easy to use, but you can only speak to one person at a time. If they tell you to get stuffed they are not going to help out, you make another call, and another, until you get onto the right people that can get that $20 part to you in the middle of the Simpson. I guess if you're stuck then you pay the $4 a minute and be done with it.

HF radio.
Can cost thousands to purchase. I bought an old but clean unit off ebay for $600 with the right frequencies for the VKS 737 network. This is a network of travellers and you pay $80 a year to be a member and this gives you a licence to operate the HF radio on their frequencies.
Upside is that you call in on a sked each day at predetermined times and report condition and position. If you need help, there is likely to be others in the vicinity that can either talk you through the problem or source the $20 part and arrange for it to be delivered to Poeppel Corner.
It's also interesting listening to others and their whereabouts and gives a sense of being part of a bigger community and not alone and lost, as opposed to simply being lost!
Downside it that the unit I bought has a dipole antenna that needs stringing up between trees or tent poles and the roof rack, orientated in kinda the right direction, before use. These are better, but far less convenient, than the big fat sticks at the front or back of vehicles, which can be used whilst mobile. HF radio can be flaky too, not being able to get through as reliably as a sat phone.

Once you're connected, it's all free to use. You can cover around 30km direct and thousands of km using the skip off the ionosphere with HF. The VKS network will pass on messages from family etc when you call in on the sked - "The lawn's too long, come home now Wolfie" that sort of thing. There are other options you can add that allow telephone like calls to be made at a cost.

I chose this option over sat phone for the community connection, and the fact I will have something to sell if I want when I come back, unlike the sat phone. I'm prepared to put up with the downsides - at the moment anyway.

I like the idea of the SAT-TRAK. Reliable, communications when needed, peace of mind for family and friends as they watch the little dot move on the website.

I'll let you know what I think of HF when I return in August.

Tim

Thank you Tim.

I too am going on a small jaunt in two weeks time, for a period of three weeks.

The chap whom I am going with has both Sat Phone, and HF. This might be a learning curve for me.

Again, thank you for your reply.

P.S. I just became a little bit more worthless about 20 minutes ago. "Tracy, why did you go and buy all those coloured flowers in these pots", I said as she was bending over in front of me digging,"you could have saved time and got dead & dried ones, like all the rest we have around here..."

There was a mumble about a desert, and something not coming back..............

Wolfie